In the interview, Salmon said that his son "is by far one of the most important people in my life. I love him more than I can say. It doesn't mean that I don't have respect, it doesn't mean that I don't sympathize with some of the issues. It just means I haven't evolved to that stage."

The Washington Post had more detail on Salmon's history on same-sex marriage:

"Salmon voted for the Defense of Marriage Act and for a ban on gay adoptions in Washington, D.C. His wife, Nancy Salmon, led the Arizona chapter of the group United Families International during an unsuccessful 2006 fight to ban gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships in the state constitution. (A narrower marriage amendment was passed two years later)."

The Post also reports that Salmon's son, also named Matt Salmon, leads the Arizona Log Cabin Republicans, a pro-gay rights GOP group.